Last Forever
by orinette
Summary: She's Hylia reborn. He's her chosen hero. But what does destiny mean to him? All he wants is his Zelda. The SS "Gate of Time" cutscene told from Link's POV. Oneshot. Implied ZeldaXLink, nothing heavier than in the game.


**A/N:** **I just finished this part of the game **_**Skyward Sword**_**, and let me tell you, that cut-scene nearly had me in tears. In my humble opinion, that was some of the most emotive animation of Link I've ever seen in any LoZ game ever—the naked pain in his face was so inspiring. So I decided to write the scene from his point of view; just a quick little one-shot with a slightly extended ending. **

The Master Sword is warm in my hands—my heart races as I stand and raise it over my head, as its power radiates through my body. The hilt expands and with a sound like the whisper of metal white light pulses through the blade. A triangular symbol like the one on the back of my hand appears, etched into the steel.

I smile. I can feel the blessing taking hold, feel the magic of the goddess—Zelda—gleaming electric in my fingertips. Zelda's brow furrows. She turns away from me. My smile fades and I lower my sword, eyes fixed on her back expectantly.

"Link," she murmurs, "before I say another word, I feel like I owe you an apology.

"You see, the mark of the Triforce on your hand is a symbol of the greatest power in this world. If you can obtain the actual Triforce, we will have the power to vanquish Demise once and for all. The problem is, among the countless souls in this world, only a select few—those with an unbreakable spirit—can wield its might."

She begins to walk slowly towards the dais at the other end of the room. I take a cautious step forward, then stop, confused—what is she getting at?

"It's impossible to know the true reason why the old gods created the Triforce," she says, still walking. "But I have a theory of my own. The gods created the Triforce, yet they specifically designed it so that their own kind could never use its power. Somehow, I think that may have been their way of giving hope to all the mortal beings of the land…"

She stops at the foot of the dais. "…Which brings us back to you. To face Demise and bring hope back to the land, the goddess Hylia needed someone with an unbreakable spirit. This is you, Link.

"But spirit alone wasn't enough. You had to overcome many trials and awaken the hero within yourself so that you could wield that supreme power. And so Hylia… I mean, and so I… I knew that if it meant saving Zelda, you would throw yourself headfirst into any danger, without even a moment's doubt…"

I smile wanly. It's true—all that time I was travelling across the surface, going through Hell and back for days on end, the only thing that had kept me going was the knowledge that when it was all over I would get to see her again. I would've done anything for that.

Zelda's voice breaks.

"I… I used you," she whispers.

It's the same harsh, guilty whisper she used on the morning of the Wing Ceremony, when she apologized for pushing me into the sky even after I told her I couldn't sense my Loftwing. Now as then, it breaks my heart to hear it.

I want to run to her, to hug her and assure her that I don't feel used, that I would've gladly accepted my destiny, that I'm just happy she's safe—but something holds me back.

Zelda begins to climb the steps of the dais. "Link, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for pulling you into all of this. But you have to understand this is a war, and the fate of the land hangs in the balance. I need your strength to tip the scales in our favour…" She stops at the top of the dais, in the middle of the beam of light shining down from the ceiling. "All that may be well-intentioned and true," she goes on, "but that doesn't mean it's right… and it doesn't excuse my actions. But I'm prepared to pay the price for what I've done."

My stomach clenches; this can't be good. An all-too familiar frustration creeps into the back of my mind—isn't this just like Zelda, to martyr herself for something I don't even blame her for! I want to grab her and shake some sense into her, but I'm still rooted to the spot.

"To ensure that the seal holds," Zelda says, her voice strong, "I will remain here in this time… deep in sleep for thousands of years."

She turns to face me with an apologetic laugh and a tentative smile.

I gasp. Panic flares in my gut. I want to scream until my lungs burst. She can't be serious; this is just another one of her jokes, it has to be—she always did get a kick out of giving me heart attacks…

My heart sinks even as I try to rationalize. She isn't joking and I know it.

"Link…" Her eyes are pleading. "I can't say it enough. I'm so sorry for the way I had to involve you in this. But until my memory of things before our lifetime returned to me, I had no idea we were fated to carry such a heavy destiny."

_I don't want you to apologize!_ I want to tell her. _I just want you to stay with me! _A hard lump forms in my throat—I can't speak, I can hardly breathe… _Please, Zelda. Please don't do this._

Her eyes are dry, but I can hear the tears in her voice. "Before all this, I was happy just spending my days hanging around with you in Skyloft. I wanted that feeling to last forever."

Whatever was holding me back shatters and I run to her. My mind is a blur. _It still can last forever. It's not too late, Zelda. I can figure this out, I can save us. You don't have to sacrifice anything!_ Dammit, why can't I say something?

Before I can reach the dais, Zelda is engulfed in light.

I scramble up the steps, panting—she can't just leave me like that—not after everything—not after all I've done—after all we've been through—

But I'm too late. The beam of light surrounding Zelda solidifies and like an insect in amber she is encased in a translucent gold crystal. It shifts around her, almost alive, as if she's suspended in liquid sunlight. She appears unfazed. I reach her then.

I beat my palm in vain against the crystal.

_No._

_No!_

_NO!_

"While it's true that I am Hylia reborn, I am still my father's daughter and your friend…" her voice echoes around me, so quiet and so intimate it's a wonder I hear it at all.

I continue to pound on the face of her prison. _You can't do this to me; you can't leave me like this—_

"I am still your Zelda."

I stop pounding for that. I stop _breathing_ for that.

"When Demise is finally gone," I can almost feel her breath against my cheek as her voice seeps through the crystal, "there will be no more need for the seal that binds him, and then I'll be able to wake up. So I'm going to ask you a favour, sleepyhead."

At the sound of my nickname, I meet her eyes, and it's as if there is nothing between us, no light, no great destiny, no millennia-long sleep. She is not the goddess, and I am not her chosen hero—I'm just Link, knight-in-perpetual-training, and she's just Zelda, the headmaster's baby girl. The girl I've known all my life. The girl I would die for.

"Ever since we were kids," she says, "I'd always be the one to wake you up when you slept in. But this time, when all of this is over, will you come to wake me up?"

Tears sting my eyes and I swallow the lump in my throat. Now, if never again, is the time to say something—I manage to croak out two words:

"I promise."

Zelda laughs. A soft, sweet laugh. It's almost a sigh.

Then the light flares so bright I have to close my eyes. When I open them again an instant later, the crystal surrounding Zelda is no longer alive, no longer moving. It's as solid and clear as glass. Inside, Zelda is as still as a statue, eyes closed, features calm. She really is asleep.

My hands fall away from the crystal's face. I feel my face begin to crumple. I grit my teeth and bow my head as the lump in my throat makes an ugly, vicious comeback. After all I've been through, everything I've done… it still wasn't enough. I couldn't save the world. I could only barely beat back the Imprisoned. I was always two steps behind, two seconds too late… and now Zelda has been forced to give up her freedom to keep at bay the very creature I've twice failed to kill.

Biting back my tears, I step reluctantly away from the crystal, never taking my eyes off her.

_I promise. I promise I'll come back for you._

With a heavy heart, I turn away and walk back to the great doors. As I step through them, they slide shut behind me with a resounding thud. I nod at Impa. She does not react. For what seems like an eternity, the only sound in the Temple of Hylia is that of the shifting gears of the Gate of Time.

I make my way down the stairs to where Impa stands. I stop before her, meeting her gaze without blinking. She raises an eyebrow quizzically—the expression is almost a challenge.

"I'm going to save her," I say. My voice sounds harsh, deep. Like a man's. "I'm going to wake her up."

Impa only stares.

I continue walking. I stand before the Gate of Time, gazing into the glowing pathway that will take me back to the world of the present, to the world I must free from Demise's clutches.

"By all rights you should feel tired, overburdened," Impa murmurs wonderingly. "You should be falling to your knees, desperate for relief. It's a miracle that you haven't already. What is the world to you, Link?"

I don't answer her. I grit my teeth and step through the Gate. She can't know… I'm not doing this for the sake of the world. I'm not even doing this for the sake of the goddess—at least, not the goddess in name. I'm doing this for the sake of the young girl sleeping in crystal. For Zelda.

My Zelda.


End file.
